UFC ******* yst Din Thomas finds the career of Ilia Topuria to be even more captivating now that he's no longer an undefeated UFC champion.
Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) saw one of the great octagon runs in history come to an end Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 when he lost the lightweight ******* le to Justin Gaethje by four-round TKO via corner stoppage. It was a Fight of the Year candidate that entertained the masses, but was also a far cry from the contest Topuria claimed it would be.
"El Matador" confidently stated he would dispatch of Gaethje inside the opening round on the White House South Lawn. Reality was far more cruel, however, and he ended up on the wrong end up a significant upset.
"It's the one that he needed," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "He has to do some soul-searching, because the same mentality that needed to be so great – he needs that now. To feel like you're invincible and feel that you're so great. That happens when you feel that and you trust in yourself and are drinking wine the night before the fight. Now you have to go back and question yourself, and that's where the soul-searching begins.
"Now you start to have doubt. Do you trust yourself anymore and have these same beliefs? Are you as great as you thought you were? You have to go and have that same level of confidence knowing that it didn't work against a guy like Justin Gaethje, where you were a 6-1 favorite. That's a lot of soul searching. I think Ilia can do it."
Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) saw one of the great octagon runs in history come to an end Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 when he lost the lightweight ******* le to Justin Gaethje by four-round TKO via corner stoppage. It was a Fight of the Year candidate that entertained the masses, but was also a far cry from the contest Topuria claimed it would be.
"El Matador" confidently stated he would dispatch of Gaethje inside the opening round on the White House South Lawn. Reality was far more cruel, however, and he ended up on the wrong end up a significant upset.
"It's the one that he needed," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "He has to do some soul-searching, because the same mentality that needed to be so great – he needs that now. To feel like you're invincible and feel that you're so great. That happens when you feel that and you trust in yourself and are drinking wine the night before the fight. Now you have to go back and question yourself, and that's where the soul-searching begins.
"Now you start to have doubt. Do you trust yourself anymore and have these same beliefs? Are you as great as you thought you were? You have to go and have that same level of confidence knowing that it didn't work against a guy like Justin Gaethje, where you were a 6-1 favorite. That's a lot of soul searching. I think Ilia can do it."
2 months ago
